Table of contents for No 208 September 2022 in NZV8

The team behind the ambitious Stratford Park development — a multi-events facility for motorsport, equestrian, education, and community events — have just completed a huge milestone, taking ownership of 17 hectares of land adjoining the Stratford A&P Association’s property. It’s on this land that they hope to create a drag strip, speedway, circuit — rally and tarmac — museum, workshops, and first-up driver training facilities for all forms of vehicles. The quest to obtain suitable land has been a decade-long venture for the trust, which recently secured the necessary funds to make the private land purchase possible thanks to a group of Taranaki locals. Philip Macey, the chair of the board, says, “Without people who share our strategic and community-focused thinking, this project would not succeed. We cannot thank them…

Feilding Hot Rod Show & Swap Meet 6 August Manfeild Park, Feilding Eventfinda Entry $10, with under 15s free; $10 swap sites Palmerston North Hot Rod Club is once again playing host to its long-running annual show and swap meet. The show takes place indoors at Manfeild and includes 40 trade sites, while the swap meet takes place outside (on tarmac) and is regarded as one of the best on the calendar — with only car-related stuff allowed. As a bonus, once midday hits all hot rods and street machines will be able to hit the track for some leisurely laps (conditions apply). The swap kicks off at 8am. Also, there is no Eftpos. Winter Wars 28 August NAPA Auto Parts Dragway, Meremere meremeredragway.co.nz Cost to race: $30; watch: $15,…

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It’s been five months since we checked in on the progress of the L.A. Wellington Shipping ‘67 Mustang Top Door Slammer being built by DB Racecars. In that time, there has been huge progress, despite waiting for parts at times. Fitting in work between customer jobs, John Dillon and Rod Benjes (the D and B behind DB Racecars) have stitched together a very nice looking chromolly tube chassis built to current SFI spec and incorporating all current NHRA Promod safety requirements. The Tim McAmis Race Cars body has now been dropped over the top, and the car dropped onto its wheels to give a good impression of what the finished product will look like. While the Chev Baretta the pair campaigned previously was a great car, there’s no denying the…

Well, the Winternationals have been run and done, and the next event for the Aeroflow Top Fuel Funny cars isn’t until early November. You’d think we would now have a chance to relax. Well, anyone who knows how the Aeroflow funny car workshop is nowadays would understand that’s not a thing we know how to do. First up is the arrival of two new (to us) Top Fuel funny cars, so it’s full steam ahead getting these cars ready for November. Now that may seem like a long way off, but let me tell you it’s not — we’ve got bodies to tidy up and paint, control systems to wire up, clutches to build, engines to build, fuel systems to plumb, and all this has to be done before we…

Turbochargers aren’t exactly a big deal these days — most people probably have a rough idea of what they are, or at least what they do. Your daily driven ute probably has one, so might your mum’s hatchback. Hell, ‘turbo’ has even become a catch-all term for anything fast. Wind back the clock to the early ’60s, though, and turbochargers were far from common and not something you’d be likely to know much about unless you were an engineer or you’d spent World War II in the Air Force tinkering with planes. Despite their successful use in the US’s P-38 and P-40 fighters, as well as bombers like the B-17, B-24, and B-29, surprisingly, it wasn’t until nearly two decades after the war ended in 1962 that US automakers first…

I have made no secret over the past few years that I struggle with my mental health. Those who live with the black dog — depression — will totally understand. Others tend to take a ‘harden up’ approach: just get on with it or over it. That is fine; I am never looking for a pity party or to try and convince people it is real, but I am not afraid to talk about it. Talking has helped, and what I have learnt is that it seems there are a lot more people dealing with it than one might realise. My family and parents have been great. I said to my dad once: “It’s hard to grasp, when you look at cool cars in the garage, have a good family…

There’s an old saying that if you do your job right, you get to do everyone else’s too … well, that’s not quite the case here, but Paul Boden did such a great job as club president from 2017-2020 that he’s been voted back into the hot seat. That’s not to say that outgoing head honcho Dean Hansen hasn’t done an equally impressive job before deciding to stand down at the recent AGM. The rest of the committee is a cast of familiar faces, including Bruce Kett, Tristan Teki, Rodney Heads, Steve Ross, and Clarke Hopkins. Paul’s set to be a very busy chap as not only does he have his CMC duties and a busy day job, but his side project — Cars Inc, which is set to become…

It seems fitting, doesn’t it, that a town built on the foundation of hydropower, back when horses were being phased out, would one day combine land, air, and water power to produce a grand display of energy. Barry Raymond and the team behind Mangakino Lake Hop have been stepping up the event year on year. Now in its fourth year, the hop is run in conjunction with the annual Rotorua swap meet. People tend to make a weekend of it, attending the Lake Hop in Mangakino on Saturday, then heading over to Rotorua for the Central North Island Swap Meet. The hop takes place tucked into the banks of Lake Maraetai, and makes full use of the grass that stretches along the coast of the Mangakino Lakefront Reserve and Golf…

For many, getting the chassis to sit less than 100mms off the ground would be plenty low enough; for Kieran Tucker, however, this simply won’t do. Kieran’s ’55 Caddy Coupe de Ville is currently going under the knife at Bad Penny Classic and Custom Services, and the team there won’t stop cutting until it’s capable of removing cat’s eyes. On the to-do list is a full airbag install, along with the Air Lift 3H control module. Up front the suspension will remain mostly stock componentry, although modified to suit the bags and new ride height, while the rear is getting a new LSD diff and custom four-link. Gone is the old Caddy V8 and in its place is a cammed, rebuilt, and detailed LS2 with high-rise manifold, which Kieran is…

Following last year’s hugely successful raffle, which not only saw Maria O’Flaherty from Wellington drive away in a 2021 Shelby but also directly funded 100 rescue missions, the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust has announced it will go one better in 2022, offering a 2022 supercharged Shelby GT Premium valued at $200,000. The trust also plans to up the rescues funded to 150, offering 8000 tickets — up from last year’s 6000, which sold out. Ticket pricing remains the same at $100, with no limit on how many you may purchase. Ticket sales close on 5 August, at which point the keys to the 700+hp Shelby could be handed to you. To enter the draw, jump on rescuehelicopter.org.nz to purchase tickets.…

In what is only his second season in the sport, Kiwi ace Scott McLaughlin now sits only 69 points from the lead and, with eight races remaining on the calendar, has a real shot to claim the IndyCar title this year. His most recent win at Mid-Ohio makes him the only driver to win multiple rounds this season, following his maiden win at the season-opening St. Petersburg round and a second place at Texas for the Xpel 375. The Mid-Ohio win was made that much sweeter by the fact Scott’s parents were in attendance. “I really wanted to get a win with Mom and Dad here for the first time,” he said after the race. The Penske driver led from mid race, when pole sitter Pato O’Ward suffered power issues.…

Tony Quinn has suffered a raft of injuries that saw him hospitalised during the opening lap of a Carrera Cup Australia race in Townsville where he hit the wall hard at turn 10 of the very unforgiving Reid Park. Quinn’s Porsche was badly damaged and he suffered significant injuries and was transported to hospital, with Porsche Motorsport Australia releasing this statement soon after: “Quinn was transported to Townsville University Hospital, where he is being treated by medical staff.” Quinn’s initial medical checks have identified “a suspected broken leg and fractures to his ribs on the left-hand side. It is also suspected he has a punctured lung.” It was later reported that the motorsport mogul is in a stable condition and the family releasing this; “He has suffered several broken bones,…

JELLY JETS Even though you don’t mind the smell of oil, fuel, and grease, your better half or the date you just swiped right on might not be as accommodating, so get your ride smelling good enough to eat with a lolly-style jet plane air freshener. Jelly Jets come in six ‘flavours’ — bubble gum, cherry, blueberry, green apple, vanilla, and strawberry in the Hang-It version, or three fragrances in the Clip-It form — bubble gum, cherry, and blueberry. To be fair, the Clip-It version also offers six variants, in that the three flavours are also available with sparkles. They are available from leading automotive and hardware stores. For more information, stockists, and pricing see jellyjets.co.nz. BIG SPARK New to the Rare Spares range are replacement HEI distributors offered for…

Over the years we’ve helped bring hundreds of concepts to digital reality, taking people’s dream builds and having one of our talented artists manifest those thoughts. While the majority of these are pie-in-the-sky builds dreamed up with no concern for the budget or making it legal, there is no greater source of inspiration if you’re looking to build something to stand out from the crowd. Some of these are real-deal machines now, and others are just begging for someone to pick up the concept and run with it — the question is, is that you? Currently being in the dead of winter, we’ve hand-picked some of our favourites in the hope they might spark that fire within. NZV8 172 — RADICAL RIG A tube chassis COE with twin-turbo 460ci big…

I’m sure we are all in agreement that we want to put the Covid-interrupted seasons we’ve had recently in the past and get to enjoy a full season of racing. The crew behind Masterton Motorplex think the same, and have released their calendar that promises to deliver the action we’ve all been hanging out for. The MMP season is set to kick off with the Ultimate Street Car Showdown on 4 September which will act as a lower North Island alternative to the ever-popular Father’s Day Drags running at Napa Dragway on the same day. A burnout comp is then scheduled for 2 October that should see some of the big hitters come out to rid the world of tyre tread. A test and tune will take place on 5…

Forty-eight hours, that’s all it took for Mopar Performance to sell out of the much-hyped — and for good reason — Hellephant Hemi crate engines when they were released to the public. The modern all-aluminium supercharged 427 Hemis, with a rated output of 1000hp, all vanished in the blink of an eye, and each for just shy of 50 New Zealand big ones. It’s rumoured that only 100 of these crate-only — that is, not offered in any production model — monsters were actually on offer. More a marketing stunt than anything, sadly, the initial hype has certainly not trickled down to a raft of cool projects surfacing with them fitted. Most must still be collecting mothballs inside their crates, as we’ve only laid eyes on a handful of builds,…

It had long been a dream to attend some rodding events in the USA with my own vehicle; in fact, in 2019 I had been invited to take my yellow roadster to the USA, but the pandemic halted those plans. Reality is that the costs and feasibility outweighed the reality of that ever happening. In late 2021, I had an opportunity to purchase my old Model A pickup ‘NZHRM Project 29’, which I had sold to a guy in Utah in 2009 — yep, I tracked it down to a third USA owner based in Idaho and then Squeak Bell went and collected it for me. This all provided the ultimate opportunity to do the bucket list thing and go hot rodding in the USA with the car I built…

After the drama of the last two Covid-affected seasons that have seen far more events cancelled, postponed, and racers absent from the track, there is a lot of excitement in the air around the coming season. Race dates for seven rounds have been released spanning every track in the North Island. The big highlight is that the class has been asked to attend the Supercar meet held at Pukekohe this September. As you can imagine, entry fees to an event such as this aren’t cheap, but we know the CMC field won’t disappoint in getting a full field of cars on track for it.…

NZV8: Gidday Steve, beautiful ute, what is the story behind this one? Steve Butcher: I have had this one for 21 years now. This 1977 HX was bought as a work wagon for the first 12 months that I owned it. It was orange with a white canopy until I started stripping it down. Ever since I was young, I always wanted an HZ or a WB ute with a V8 dropped into it, so eventually it had to happen. I came across this particular example and jumped at the chance to transform it. I put the WB Caprice front clip on it, hence the homage to the WB on the number plate. What were the original plans you had for the ute once you got your hands on it?…

It may have been an on-again off-again affair over the past three years, but it looks as if finally we will once again see Supercars storming Ford mountain. Supercars CEO Shane Howard confirmed the Supercars roadshow will hit Pukekohe Park Raceway on 9–11 September. “We understand there have been a lot of rumours about these events, which is why we are happy to put them to rest and move forward with planning,” Howard said. “Getting to New Zealand in 2022 was one of our key objectives and, even with international freight challenges, we have a plan in place that will ensure our passionate Kiwi fans get to see the best touring car category in the world.” The show promises to be a big one, with local big bangers Napa CMC…

With season 10 of Repco Muscle Garage now well and truly under way, time is running out to put yourself into the draw for this season’s mega prize pack from the show’s long-time supporters: Repco New Zealand, Meguiar’s, and Mount Shop Ltd. The prize pack includes an 85-piece toolkit from Repco valued at $672, a Meguair’s car care package valued at $760, a Mount Shop voucher to the value of $500, and a year’s subscription to NZV8 valued at $98. All you have to do to enter is head to themotorhood.com, click on the pinned Repco Muscle Garage post, and fill out the form. The draw closes Sunday, 14 August, at 12pm, so don’t say we didn’t give you plenty of warning. We’d also like to thank Repco New Zealand,…

If you caught our feature back in issue 204 on the South Island stash of retro V8 Supercars, you would have seen the Brad Jones Racing #06 machine. This car — a 2003 BA Falcon owned by South Islander Rob Lewis — is now up for grabs, and we’d love to see it stay on our shores and not head back across the ditch. The BJR06 machine has been fully restored to its original OzEmail scheme which it wore during its debut season with John Bowe behind the wheel. That season saw it place third at Bathurst. The following season, it won the non-championship Australian GP race. It has been expertly restored here in New Zealand and comes with a huge genuine spares package, and is in a ready-to-run state,…

Anyone who’s built or worked on cars knows what it’s like to amass an eclectic pile of parts over the years. We all know how hard it is to try and clear things out or sell our treasures, knowing maybe one day they’ll come in handy for a project we are dreaming of … even if the chances of that project eventuating are somewhere close to zero. We’ve also all likely experienced the annual shed cleanout that should result in plenty of parts finding new homes, but in reality ends up with only a small handful of things finding their way into new homes – or, heaven forbid, the scrap metal pile. While our partners and family may not understand it, Chris Dawson gives us the perfect evidence of why…

I often get a little uncomfortable when people I know ask me, “What are you driving at the moment?” Those who know me well are aware that the combination of my aversion to flying, the big mileage I do each year, and propensity for being a tightwad causes me to change my drive car pretty much each year. So, I’m constantly reopened to getting a hard time from my mates because they think Jeeps are rubbish, or because they’re a Ford guy and I’ve got another Holden, or because they’re an Aussie car purist and I’ve got a Lexus. But, over these past two years, I’ve become even keener to avoid that question than ever before. If I’m really honest, there’s another reason I have a different drive car every…

Aaron Smith states his love of old cars and bikes began when he was a child. Having had the opportunity to crew on a wide range of cars over the passing years, he finally decided the time was right to take the leap into owning and driving one of his own. His brother Noal found just the thing in the form of an Altered that was advertised for sale. When he first laid eyes on the ’60s Bantam-style car, he knew he had to have it. With the car having never been on the track locally, it had to go through tech inspection, and the initial feedback was that only a small amount of work was required. However, when it was stripped down for a closer look, it soon became…

Retirement: it’s something they tell us that we should be planning for, for most of our lives — building a nest egg, blah blah blah. What they don’t tell us car-loving folk is that you also need to be planning what the hell you’re going to be driving, and that had better be something cool; you can leave those grocery getters to the nine-to-fivers. One person who has done exactly that is tattoo artist Shane Wiki — although that’s not a surprise, as cars have long been a part of his life. Shane recalls growing up with petrol-mad parents – his dad always modifying the family cars as soon as they were purchased with new wheels or bigger engines, and his mum always eager to put them to the test…

THE FIRST MUSTANG WAS RELEASED IN 1964 Unicorns — these mythical creatures have enchanted children and adults alike for centuries. The collective noun for unicorns is a ‘blessing’. Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn, an association that dates back to the 12th century, and not, as I imagined, the result of a late-night brainstorming session liberally fuelled by whisky. Despite their frequent appearance in popular culture, unicorns remain famously difficult to spot in the wild. I hadn’t seen one until I was invited into the presence of Malcolm Macrae’s original-condition 1966 Shelby GT350 — one of the real unicorns of the car world, alive and well in Wellington. My only previous sighting had been of one in captivity at the Shelby museum and factory in Las Vegas. This car’s badge…

Life — no one needs to tell you it’s busier than ever — you know that as you’re living it. But as fast paced and hectic as it may be, you still need to find some time to pursue those little pleasures in life. For Jason Svensson that pleasure has been building his HQ up over the past six years, chipping away at it, but not in the conventional tear it apart, and a decade later it’s finally finished approach. Instead it’s been piecemeal, so that he can still use it, which when looking at all the cars in our own sheds, many of which have not seen the road in years, seems like a bloody smart approach to project car management. And as he tells us, the build is…

Round One: Repco Supercars — Pukekohe Park Raceway, 9-11 September Round Two: MG Classic — Manfeild Motorsport Park, 11-13 November Round Three: Speedworks — Pukekohe Park Raceway, 9-11 December Round Four: Speedworks — Taupo, 13-15 January Round Five: NZ Motorsport Group GP — Hampton Downs, 3-5 February Round Six: NZ Motorsport Group — Taupo, 17-19 March Round Seven: NZ Motorsport Group — Thunder in the Park, Pukekohe 5-7 May* *Indicates potential non-championship round…

Dubbed ‘The Butcher’, the 1922 Dodge started life as a three-window coupe some 99 years ago but was cut down into a ute during the war due to fuel rationing. Serial modifier Corey Jay is planning something special for its upcoming milestone birthday — a big skid! The Dodge was purchased some time ago by Corey’s father-in-law; he had intended to build it as a hot rod project, but that never kicked off. When Corey purchased it and took over the project, not much more than the chopped-down body was left. The goal was to build it on the cheap and use it for fun events, etc. so getting it road legal was never a concern. From the outset Corey decided to return the pickup to a coupe, and sourced…

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